Stressed about the mess?

Here’s How to Quickly Clean Your Home

In a hurry? I totally get it! Click here to pin this for later!

I made my method into a Printable Checklist so you can easily reference it! Simply subscribe to get access to our subscriber library, where you will find this cute and useful FREE printable!

Before having kids, having a somewhat disorganized house didn’t bother me. I was okay with a little clutter, a little chaos, and a little mess. But after having kids my mindset changed. It’s not that having a slightly messy house bothers me now, because let’s be realistic, with two toddlers in my house it’s always going to be a little messy. But having a certain type of disorder in my house really stresses me out. What type of mess am I referring to? The mess where the kitchen counter is full of dirty dishes, where there’s little toys randomly distributed across the wood floor, and when you can’t find all the parts to assemble a clean sippy cup to give your kids. That’s the kind of mess that makes me stressed and sometimes even angry.

When there’s a mess like that, there’s a good chance my 2 year old will find a knife on the counter, that my one year old (or myself) will slip on one of those toys like it’s a banana peel, or that I will lose my cool as my kids scream that they need milk NOW. I like to think that I’m a pretty level headed person, but when all of those things happen, it puts me close to my breaking point.

A few months ago, I published a post about a “cleaning schedule.” It was a FREE editable PDF file where you could list what needed to be cleaned each day of the week. The goal was that it would allow you to do a “little cleaning” each day, so that by the end of the month everything had been cleaned and your never fell super far behind cleaning your house.

I have heard from a few readers that this method is working extremely well for them. But let me be completely honest, it did not work for me. I taped the schedule on the wall next to the fridge and 3 days later, I stopped looking at it. (This post has been updated with a new printable that works significantly better – please go check it out!) What was the problem? Well part of the problem is me. Some days I come home and have a lot of work to do. On those days I don’t want or have time to commit 30 minutes to an hour to cleaning. I’d much rather clean every other day or when it’s needed. Another problem is that we just had way too much stuff. Too many toys, too many dishes, too many clothes. There was no way to stay on top of it all the time. I thought this schedule would make it so I never fell too far behind, but if my kids pulled out 30 toys every single day, it takes the same amount of time to pick them all up every. single. day.

Well let’s fast forward to today, I am a busy mom who is trying to do it all. I am practically a single parent (as my husband is working at least 12 hours every single day). Everyday I focus on what needs done that day. As much as I would like to clean a little each day, I basically am treading water to make sure all the essentials (job, kids, life) gets done. So preemptively cleaning stuff and sticking to a schedule was a nice idea, but essentially just wishful thinking at this point of our lives.

But that doesn’t mean I’ve completely given up on cleaning my house, in fact I’ve found a method that’s working; a way to quickly clean my house. Now there was a few important things I did so that I could clean my house quickly, like a massive decluttering and purge. (We can talk more about that another time!) But currently I can come home to a house that is in moderate disarray and have it clean enough (by mom to young kids standards) to feel good about myself in less than an hour.

I want to be transparent, this is not the method I would use to clean my house before having company over. This method doesn’t require you to scrub your toilets, mop the floor or clean out your refrigerator. I still do those occasionally, but on an as needed basis. My speed cleaning method makes my house clean enough that when my two little boys come home, my house is a safe and relatively stress free environment.

Want to know how to quickly clean your house? Here’s my method:

Step 1: Turn on some good, upbeat tunes!

If you are going to work quickly, you need some good music to get motivated! If you can, ignore all text messages and calls during this time. You are going to speed clean – the goal is to do it as fast as possible!

Step 2: Start a load of laundry.

Collect all the clothes from random places around your house (living room, bathrooms, etc)
Quickly put together a load of laundry and get it started.

Step 3: Clean the kitchen.

- Put away all clean dishes, including those on the drying rack or in the dishwasher.
- Throw away any trash; napkins, food, paper cups, empty containers, etc.
- Wash all dirty dishes and/or put them in the dishwasher.
- If the trash/recyling is full, tie off the bag and put near the door. Replace trashbag(s).
- Clean off any remaining clutter on countertops or dining room table.
- Wipe down all countertops and dining room table.

Step 4: Tidy up every room in your house.

Grab a disposable shopping bag or trashbag and a damp rag.

FOR LIVING SPACES (LIVING ROOM, OFFICE, BEDROOMS, ETC):

Pick up trash and empty trashcans if needed.
Make designated piles of stuff that needs to be moved to another room. Example: a pile by the stairs that needs to go upstairs or a pile by the basement door that needs to go downstairs.
Straighten up.
Wipe down countertops or tabletops.

Repeat the last two steps throughout every room in your house.

FOR BATHROOMS:

Pick up trash and empty trashcans if needed.
Organize countertops.
Wipe down countertops.

Step 5. Finishing Touches.

Sweep the floors that need it.
Take out the trash.
Switch clothes in washer to dryer.

After doing these 5 steps, your house should be reasonably clean and if you do this a couple times a week, it should allow you to stay on top of things. Remember the goal is to do it quickly, so just get started and tune out the rest of the world! If you want a printable checklist of these steps, be sure to subscribe. The printable is located in our subscriber library. Hope this helps you keep up on your housework, I know as a busy mom that I always wish I could get more done.